Latisse, Week One

Hi, my name is Jen and I have trichotillomania, a disorder where I pull hair compulsively.

(Hi, Jen!).

According to the Trichotillomania Learning Center Website:

Trichotillomania (trick-o-til-o-MAY-nee-ah) is a disorder that causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyelashes, eyebrows, pubic area, underarms, beard, chest, legs or other parts of the body, resulting in noticeable bald patches. Hair pulling varies greatly in its severity, location on the body, and response to treatment. For some people, at some times, trichotillomania is mild and can be quelled with a bit of extra awareness and concentration. For others, at times the urge may be so strong that it makes thinking of anything else nearly impossible.

Trichotillomania (also referred to as TTM or "trich") is currently defined as an impulse control disorder but there are still questions about how it should be classified. It may seem to resemble a habit, an addiction, a tic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Most recently, it is being conceptualized as part of a family of "body-focused repetitive behaviors" (BFRBs) along with skin picking and nail biting.

I've had "trich" since I was in middle school (I'm now entering my 30's) and drawing in my eyebrows has become a daily routine - the make-up artists at the MAC counter say I'm pretty good at it - but I hate it. I've been going to therapy for it, I've tried to re-grow the hair using castor oil, vitamin E, biotin, etc., but, of course, I still pull and thus still have no eyebrows. My "pulling" in concentrated on my eyebrows and eyelashes, though I've come a long way with the lashes (I actually have some, though they are blonde and thin). 

So this summer (the season when I seem to be able to not pull hair out and hair grows faster) I decided to try something drastic: spending $125 on Latisse, the new wonder-drug for fuller lashes. By spending $125 (and I'm on a budget) I've also vowed to leave my face alone (at least for the 16 weeks the product requires) and see if this works. Money is generally a good "carrot" to make me commit to something.

I could've tried Rogaine, but I'm scared to put it on my face. After checking this lady's experience out, as well as this one, I decided Latisse would be the way to go. I'll be blogging for a couple of months about this experiment; let's see if it works. I've currently been using Latisse on my brows and lashes for a week. The only side effect I've had is some minor itchiness after applying the product to my lashes, but otherwise, no worries. I am a little spooked that, once you stop using the product, your hair growth goes "back" to where it was before - does that mean if I grow eyebrows they'll fall out? We'll see.

Latisse, Week One

As you can see, I have most of my lashes (there's a bald area on the right one) and there are a few myriad eyebrow hairs, but otherwise my upper face is kinda bald. 

If you've tried this and it worked, please let me know! If you've tried this and it hasn't worked, please, let me know! If you have nothing nice to say... don't. Thanks!